Abbott vetoes over 50 bills, cites legislature’s failure to pass property tax relief | Texas

(The Center Square) – Making good on his promise last week, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed more than 50 bills solely because the legislature won’t agree on how to provide nearly $18 billion in property tax relief.

Each veto statement is nearly identical, stating: “While [the bill number] is important, it is simply not as important as cutting property taxes. At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans. This bill can be reconsidered at a future special session only after property tax relief is passed.”

On June 18, he vetoed 29 bills:

• SB 200 relates to the admission process for undergraduate students seeking an academic fresh start to apply to public higher education institutions.
• SB 261 relates to titling and registration of assembled trailers.
• SB 335 relates to Family and Protective Services Council broadcasting meetings online.
• SB 987 relates to reporting certain information about state money paid to certain vendors and counties.
• SB 1051 creates unity for health benefit plans’ coordination of benefits questionnaire.
• SB 1367 relates to the confidentiality of certain information about county courthouse employees and their family members.
• SB 1404 relates to creating a work group to study the benefits of coal-to-nuclear electric generating facility conversion.
• SB 1439 relates to ad valorem taxation of tangible personal property held or used by related business entities.
• SB 1467 relates to electronic disclosure of certain medical information.
• SB 1614 relates to how the cost of goods sold by television and radio broadcasters for purposes of the franchise tax are calculated.
• SB 1668 relates to property owners’ and condominium owner’s associations.
• SB 1916 relates to publicizing public improvement district service plans and assessments on certain public websites.
• SB 2010 relates to required reporting by the wholesale electric market monitor for the ERCOT power region.
• SB 2192 relates to creating a municipal utility district in certain counties.
• SB 2248 relates to guardianships for those who are incapacitated.
• SB 2269 relates to discontinuing group self-insurance coverage and dissolving the Texas self-insurance group guaranty fund and trust fund under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.
• SB 2277 relates to special appointments in lawsuits affecting the parent-child relationship.
• SB 2292 relates to bond requirements for certain judges.
• SB 2399 relates to the authority of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to regulate Voice over Internet Protocol services.
• SB 2474 relates to assessing civil and administrative penalties for violations of statutes or rules governing chemical dependency treatment facilities.
• HB 2629 relates to reporting direct campaign expenditures by certain persons and political committees.
• HB 2956 relates to municipal annexation of an area adjacent to contiguous or connecting railroad rights-of-way.
• HB 3436 relates to the authority of the Texas Military Department to negotiate the release of a reversionary interest in certain property in Palo Pinto County owned by the Palo Pinto County Livestock Association.
• HB 4106 relates to resolving certain customer complaint procedures before the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
• HB 4219 relates to the maximum rate or amount of interest of certain consumer loans.
• HB 5332 creates the Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 229; grants a limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose fees and taxes.
• HB 5358 creates the Ranger Ridge Municipal Utility District of Palo Pinto County; grants a limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• HB 5360 creates the Deer Creek Ranch Municipal Utility District No. 1; grants a limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• HB 5366 creates the Grimes County Municipal Utility District No. 3; grants a limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.

On June 16th, he vetoed 21 bills:

• SB 247 relates to specialty license plates.
• SB 267 relates to law enforcement agency accreditation.
• SB 315 relates to regulating telephone solicitations.
• SB 348 relates to prohibitions about posting online information held by an appraisal district regarding certain residential property.
• SB 361 relates to school district employee eligibility to also serve on the appraisal review board of an appraisal district.
• SB 485 relates to designating the second Saturday in October as Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
• SB 526 relates to requiring prior approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer a degree or certificate program to some who are incarcerated or subject to involuntary civil commitment.
• SB 1431 relates to the confidentiality of certain information for a current or former administrative law judge.
• SB 1568 relates to the persons authorized or appointed to exercise the power of sale under the terms of a contract lien on real property.
• SB 1712 relates to the purchase, sale, or lease of real property on behalf of a limited partnership or a limited liability company.
• SB 2052 relates to permit fees for groundwater wells imposed by the Southeast Texas Groundwater Conservation District.
• SB 2260 relates to management review of certain investigations conducted by the Department of Family and Protective Services.
• SB 2379 relates to aquifer storage and recovery projects that transect a portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
• SB 2453 relates to certain regulations adopted by governmental entities for the building products, materials, or methods used in the construction of residential or commercial buildings.
• SB 2604 creates the Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 589; grants limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• SB 2616 creates the Travis County Municipal Utility District No. 27; grants limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• SB 1979 creates an annual study by the Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center of the purchase and sale of single-family homes by certain institutional buyers.
• SB 2597 creates the Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 237; grants limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• SB 2598 creates the Honey Creek Improvement District No. 1; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments and fees.
• SB 2605 creates the Knob Creek Municipal Utility District of Bell County; grants a limited power of eminent domain; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes.
• SB 2613 creates the Tabor Ranch Municipal Management District; provides authority to issue bonds, impose assessments, fees, and taxes; grants limited power of eminent domain.

On June 15, he vetoed three bills:

• SB 1998 relates to calculating certain ad valorem tax rates.
• SB 1080 relates to a mitigation program and fees for the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District.
• SB 2493 relates to repairs made pursuant to a tenant’s notice of intent to repair and the refund of a tenant’s security deposit.